C. J. Dubois

Ranji and his wife Meena are untouchables, the poorest of the poor in India. Ranji makes a living gathering sticks and selling the wood. One day a tire falls off a truck. Ranji immediately takes the tire home, imagining selling the tire and making a fortune.

This book was a bit slow. The story went over the same events with multiple characters, which caused everything to stagnant. The son's story seemed a bit more interesting to me, as he left home to work in a big city. I also wanted to know more about the daughter. Overall, this book was a bit unsatisfying.… (mehr)

Reincarnation brings hope to Ranji. He accepts his fate with resignation. He lives under a Banyan tree in a grass-roofed hut.

Ranji is an untouchable in Tamil Nadu who supports his family by gathering wood from along the road, returning home after dark. Cars rush by, deadly cobra lurk near anthills. Yet he is content. He has a beautiful wife who loves him, a son making a living in the city, and a scholarly daughter who hopes for the college education her elder brother had to forgo. He needs little, money for his daughter's schooling and for food. His wife saves money and dreams of a new sarai, while Ranji dreams of a bicycle.

One evening Ranji is returning home when he hears a noise and discovers a large tire has fallen off a passing truck. He hides it in the bushes to retrieve later.

As Ranji life changes. A holy man, once an engineer, teaches him about the tire. His knowledge impresses the man who hires him to harvest rice and he is given a better job. Meanwhile, his wife has attracted the attention of a richer man, a known seducer. When the monsoon season becomes deadly, all Ranji's problems and good fortune bring him to question: was the tire given to him to ruin his life, or to bring good fortune?

I enjoyed being immersed in a world so vastly different from my own, living with these characters who are content with so little while deserving so much more. The novel is more than a look at another culture, it is a mirror in which we can reflect on our own values, hopes and dreams, leaving us to wonder at the strange serendipity that sometimes alters our lives in unimaginable ways.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.… (mehr)